Prac Three: Rosberg takes over

Nico Rosberg replaced Lewis Hamilton as the man to beat on the soft tyres while his team-mate struggling to put it together in Prac Three.

Hamilton had been leading the way on the medium tyres, however, a swap to the softs saw Rosberg come to the fore.

The German driver clocked a 1:29.375 to set the fastest time of the weekend to date.

Hamilton tried to fight back but had a slow middle sector and ran off at Turn 9 - as many did - and eventually finished fourth, 1.544s down.

Jenson Button was second fastest for McLaren by was a staggering 1.391s slower than Rosberg while Alonso was third, a further 0.110s off the pace.

Daniel Ricciardo was fifth quickest for Red Bull in another solid morning while his team-mate Sebastian Vettel could only manage 12th.

Like many out in the final ten minutes, Vettel was caught up by a tail wind at Turn 9 that buffered his car and went him running wide.

Nico Hulkenberg had a good morning, bringing his Force India home in sixth place ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, Kevin Magnussen and Sergio Perez.

Felipe Massa completed the top ten on a mixed morning for Williams. While he put in 20 laps, team-mate Valtteri Bottas managed just two with his FW36 in need of a gearbox change.

As for Friday's troubled teams, Caterham seemed to get it right, both drivers running although neither particularly quick, but it was a mixed morning for Lotus.

Pastor Maldonado was able to put in the laps, cover 15 with a best time of a 1:34.754, however, Romain Grosjean did not.

On his first lap he reported a misfire, saying "unbelievable", which sent him back into the pits. Out 30 minutes later, he was heard yelling "nothing is solved" in sheer frustration. He did just three laps.